Zhirkov dismisses knee surgery fears

Injured Chelsea winger Yuri Zhirkov has set his sights on making his Barclays Premier League debut after shrugging off fears he would need surgery to cure a knee problem.

Zhirkov, who joined Chelsea in the summer for £18m from CSKA Moscow, has missed the start of the Barclays League campaign because of a knee injury aggravated on the club’s pre-season tour of America.